John J Cahill
Company Overview
Since 1890, our family-owned business, John J. Cahill, Inc., has built a solid reputation among both residential and commercial clients for our expertise, exceptional workmanship, consistent service, and most importantly, credibility -- the foundation of our company.
Our team at John J. Cahill, Inc. boasts an average tenure of 20 years. Our seasoned technicians are certified in drainage, bathroom design, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. The key takeaway about John J. Cahill, Inc. is our dedicated crew who genuinely care about our clients and strive to deliver excellent service. Contact us today for a free estimate!
Founded by Irish immigrant John Cahill, John J. Cahill, Inc. holds the title of the oldest plumbing company in Illinois still operated by the founding family.
John J. Cahill III represents the fourth generation of the Cahill family at the helm of John J. Cahill, Inc.
Business Services
- Bathroom remodeling
- Bathtub installation
- Plumbing inspection
- Plumbing installation or replacement
- Remodeling
- Shower installation
- Toilet installation
Business Location & Hours
| Mon: | Open 24 hours |
| Tue: | Open 24 hours |
| Wed: | Open 24 hours |
| Thu: | Open 24 hours |
| Fri: | Open 24 hours |
| Sat: | Open 24 hours |
| Sun: | Open 24 hours |
Recommended Customer Reviews
I had some work done, and paid the full amount of the invoice. Afterwards, they claimed the plumber's math was bad, and they wanted more money from me. I said, I paid what you charged me, I shouldn't have to pay any more. Apparently now they have me on a list that they won't do business with me any more, because paying the full amount of their invoice wasn't enough for them.
We needed them to come several times to fix a sink sprayer. First time they didn't actually fix the sprayer. The second time they brought the wrong part. Each time the wait (without a working kitchen sink!) was around a week or two. We called and complained and were told ""maybe you are not the clients we should work with."" The parts guy at Cahill couldn't seem to figure out the right part as he ""worked directly with the manufacturer, Delta"" and eventually called to tell us a blatant lie that the part didn't exist, but they'd be happy to help us install an entire new faucet. Fortunately this happened after I worked directly by myself with Delta (fantastic, by the way), got the correct part and installed it in minutes and has worked now for 6 months without so much as a drop leaked. I will NEVER work with Cahill again as they have demonstrated their complete untrustworthiness.
Great company! Fast, responsive, professional, thorough, polite. Probably a little more expensive than other options, but completely worth it for the trust and value. A+
Previous comments about them being to expensive and charging just to show up still infuriates me. Not to mention they didn't even solve the problem. They installed the boiler and when our pilot light kept going out, the guy charged +$100 just to light it again. Then WE googled the potential cause and told them to replace the thermocouple (which was supposidly replaced by them during maintenance). That didn't solve the problem. The last time the guy asked what WE thought was wrong. Seriously. If you charge that much, you better FIX THE PROBLEM. ESPECIALLY IF YOU INSTALLED IT. Just had a different company come out to see if they could figure out what was wrong and they said the connections were loose. (Again, probably caused from Cahill). These guys are crooks.
This company is fabulous. They have fixed my plumbing as well as installed a new sink. They are just excellent. They are so knowledgable and professional. I have 100% confidence in them and their work. Plus, unlike 99% of workmen, they clean up after themselves. The only drawback is that they are pricey. But still... you get what you pay for.
Charged $485 for 30 minutes of work (33 ft of rodding). They brought 3 people over for a job that could be accomplished by one. Who pays $970 an hour. Are you kidding? Need I say more?
I unfortunately had the misfortune of calling Cahill first for a water heater problem, after the very nice on time technician took a look at the water heater, 1.5 min later I was told they would have to order a part. For this information I had the privilege of paying $147. I later recived a call informing me that the parts would cost over $500, and it s better I get a new one, $1070, installed.
After that fantastic news, I called a competitor, who was also very nice, came on time and spend half hr reviewing and replacing a broken part, who then finally charged around $200. The nice tech explained the heater can last many more years, but to limit the life span to around an additional 5 yrs, I respected that response and will follow his advise.
I guess the final advise is to deal with a true service tech, not a sale associate pushing for the higher margin replacement equipment to increase the companies revenue, and pocket commission.
Jay R.The more I think about it,the more I think they screwed my mom over. Had to call them one night when I was over there and stepped into a fair amount of sewer water in her basement. Charge was $495 after hours, but mom was panicking & we were given fair notice that was the price. Plumber was a nice guy and everything seemed taken care of. So no squawk there.
But a week later a recurrence,plus the cleanout plug was leaking. Same plumber came back-he suspected something else was amiss with the line so did a video exploration after rerodding. Thankfully there were no major issues,and at one point he pretty much admitted he hadn't gone far enough the 1st time around. So he comped the video and the rerodding,but charged her for 3 hours of labor at $145/hr. Which as she later mentioned,totalled $65 more than they charge during regular hours for rodding. Which since the job wasn't done right the first time should have be uncharged. Right?
Cahill put in a new sump pump for me. The plumber put it in the sump basin without cleaning it out. He set it on rocks and construction debris that was left over from when the house was built. When I discovered this, John Cahill said the plumber didn't want to wait until the sump was pumped dry to ""save me money"" on labor. Instead they put $700 of sump pump work on rocks that can damage the new sump pump. It made no sense. They didn't even call me to tell me that he may need to wait and it would cost me a little bit extra. In my opinion this was sloppy work and John Cahill gave me an unsatisfactory answer when I discovered a bucketful of debris in my sump basin. I don't mind paying top dollar for top plumbing work, but in this case the work was not great. The answer from Cahill when I called about why the plumber wasn't more diligent cleaning the sump out just didn't make sense.
JD O.This is one helluva company. I did a *huge* gut renovation of my really old, really quirky, really tiny kitchen, and they did amazing, amazing work. Yes, it cost an arm and a leg, but the work they did will last for fifty years or more. And it really was a total a gut job - - - ripping down walls, patching plaster, redoing electrical work, refinishing the original white oak floors (covered under stick-on plastic tiles, cheap laminate, 1950's linoleum, and a thick layer of adhesive - - a *nightmare*), installing a new stove, dishwasher, new cabinets, countertops, etc. It was a lot.
Contractor Pat Kelly was great at walking me through the steps of redesigning my 7' x 8' kitchen, from taking down a false wall to picking out the right kind of cabinets. He was always communicating with me, and as a young woman, I never felt he treated me like a second class citizen. He was very patient, which was helpful since I was spending so much money! I can get a little panicky with spending anything over $20.
All the workers and craftsmen who came to work on my kitchen were incredibly kind, pleasant, careful, and *clean*! I could walk barefoot in the work area, it was so clean! They were also extremely trustworthy. I went out of town for a week while they started the demolition process, and wasn't nervous at all. Joe the carpenter in particular was really wonderful. Smart, conscientious, and very nice. What more can you ask for?
If any of you are curious as to the before/after pictures, just ask me and I'd be happy to send them your way. They are hugely impressive. Really.
In terms of plumbing, they have always sent someone out the same day I called, even before I went and spent an arm and a leg on a kitchen renovation (so you know there's no special treatment there!). For instance, my one-and-only toilet went on the fritz last night, I called up today at 8AM, and they sent out a plumber by 10:45AM. He was done by 11AM (apparently it was a simple fix, whodathunkit). Bam!
They never fail to send truly nice guys, which honestly, really really matters. They are coming into your home, your haven, your safe space, and as a young woman alone in the house, I never felt anything less than perfectly comfortable with every guy they sent out.
If you're looking to do major renovations, I really would recommend Cahill. Yes, they're expensive, but you get what you pay for. They know their suppliers personally, can get you the best deal possible for what you're looking for, and they do heirloom-quality work. Can't speak highly enough of them!










